20 YEARS AGO BUGATTI MATED TWO TWIN TURBO V8S TOGETHER TO CREATE THE VEYRON – AND THEY CHANGED THE GAME FOREVER.
In Molsheim, where cobbled streets echo with over a century of Bugatti history, the marque marked two anniversaries this September. The first: the birthday of founder Ettore Bugatti, born in 1881, whose vision for engineering brilliance still defines the brand. The second: a modern icon. Twenty years ago, Bugatti unveiled the Veyron - the car that reset the laws of physics and redefined what a road car could be. When the Veyron 16.4 landed in 2005, it wasn’t just fast - it was almost unbelievable. A quad-turbocharged 8.0-litre W16 producing 1,001 horsepower, a top speed beyond 400 km/h, and a price tag that put it firmly in uncharted territory. For the first time, a production car combined luxury, refinement, and engineering insanity at a level nobody thought possible. It didn’t just raise the bar - it created the hypercar segment that the likes of Koenigsegg, Pagani, and even Bugatti’s own Chiron would later inhabit. The vision came from Prof. Dr. Ferdinand Karl Piëch, whose audacity demanded a car that could cruise to the opera and annihilate the autobahn on the same night. The Veyron was exactly that: a piece of rolling theatre, engineering extravagance, and mechanical excess.
At this year’s Bugatti Festival in Alsace, Veyron owners from around the world gathered for Le Petit Tour – a weekend-long celebration of the car that made history. The convoy began with a welcome dinner of fine regional gastronomy, where owners shared stories of living with a car that once seemed impossible to build. The next day, the Veyrons roared through the Vosges mountains, their unmistakable W16 soundtrack bouncing off the valleys as they carved sweeping loops through forests and historic towns.
Lunch was hosted at the 12th-century Château de Haut-Barr, the “Eye of Alsace,” a dramatic perch above the plains below. Later, the tour stopped at Villa René Lalique, home to the legendary glassmaker whose artistry has been intertwined with Bugatti for generations. The connection between Lalique’s craft and Bugatti’s engineering served as a reminder: the Veyron was never just about speed. It was about beauty, creativity, and legacy.
A night of art and horsepower kicked off back at Château Saint Jean, Bugatti’s historic HQ. The celebrations continued with a cocktail reception, banquet, and even a three-act operatic performance by the Opéra de Strasbourg. It was a nod to Piëch’s original dream: a car capable of delivering hyper performance by day and a majestic drive to the opera by night. Few vehicles embody that balance better than the Veyron. The festivities culminated with the Veyrons joining the parade at the Bugatti Festival, their engines echoing through Molsheim’s streets - a living reminder of how one car altered the trajectory of automotive history.
As Bugatti President Christophe Piochon summed it up: “An audacious feat of automotive engineering, creating an entirely new segment, pushing the boundaries of what was deemed achievable – everything the Veyron represents brings together Bugatti owners and enthusiasts around the world. Le Petit Tour in the heart of Bugatti’s homeland is an exceptional way to celebrate its achievements, and the legacy of passion and inspiration that it continues to drive.”
Two decades on, the Veyron still stands tall as a symbol of excess, bravery, and engineering ambition. It wasn’t just a car - it was a cultural event. Without it, there would be no Chiron, no Bolide, and perhaps no hypercar arms race at all. Bugatti built a legend, and 20 years later, the world is still in awe. I know we are.
Take a look at the YouTube video that celebrates 20 years of the iconic Veyron, a car that changed the speed and luxury game forever. We love it because it's still a VW: Honoring a BUGATTI icon - Celebrating 20 years of VEYRON | Bugati
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